Synthesizing the artistic themes of the East with exacting techniques of the West, internationally renowned Taiwanese printmaker Liao Shiou-ping has enjoyed a long career marked by numerous awards and accolades. The Chinese Culture Center will feature thirty of his prints and paintings in the main gallery, from July 25 to October 7, 2001. Admission is
free.

Born in Taiwan in 1936, Liao Shiou-Ping graduated from the National Taiwan Normal University in 1959 with a B.A. in Fine Arts. He continued his studies at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and L'ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris. He later went on to teach printmaking in Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. A member of several prominent graphic artists organizations, he has held more than 70 solo exhibitions. His works are collected by museums in over 40 countries, including the British Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, and many others.

Despite living overseas through decades of subtle and tumultuous change in politics and art, Liao's work still maintains a strong tie to Taiwan. He holds an affinity to the Lungshan Temple in Taipei, a bond which he refers to as an "invisible umbilical cord that can never be cut." As such, his art reflects a melding of traditional Chinese colors with Western printmaking techniques, and Eastern folk images with abstract Western geometrical concepts. The opposing forces of Yin and Yang often appear in his work, juxtaposing items that may seem contradictory to one another.

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One theme that has remained consistent throughout the evolution of Liao's style is that of the gate. Indeed, this represents a yin-yang relationship of East and West, a dichotomy of interpretation regarding the gate. From a Western standpoint, the gate is a border that separates two spaces. However, from a Chinese mind, the gate alludes to family or a sense of belonging. Liao's work often embraces a synthesis of both ideas, thereby providing a common ground for all audiences.